Greenhouse gas emissions by the livestock sector could be cut by as much as 30 percent through the wider use of existing best practices and technologies. FAO conducted a detailed analysis of GHG emissions at multiple stages of various livestock supply chains, including the production and transport of animal feed, on-farm energy use, emissions from animal digestion and manure decay, as well as the post-slaughter transport, refrigeration and packaging of animal products. This report represents the most comprehensive estimate made to-date of livestocks contribution to global warming as well as the sectors potential to help tackle the problem. This publication is aimed at professionals in food and agriculture as well as policy makers.

"An important emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), the livestock sector also has a large potential to reduce its emissions. This is the main conclusion drawn by the report 'Tackling climate change through livestock'. This newly released report provides the most comprehensive global assessment made to-date of the livestock sector's GHG emissions and its mitigation potential. The report also presents a detailed assessment of the magnitude, the sources and pathways of emissions from different production systems and supply chains. Relying on life cycle assessment, statistical analysis and scenario building, it identifies concrete options to reduce emissions. It comes at a time when the world needs to urgently reduce GHG emissions to avert catastrophic climate change. The livestock sector can make an important contribution to such international efforts by offsetting some of the sector's emission increases, which are expected as demand for livestock products is projected to grow by 70 percent by 2050"--Publisher's description.

"The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.

The current analysis was conducted to evaluate the potential of nutritional, manure and animal husbandry practices for mitigating methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) - i.e. non-carbon dioxide (CO2) - GHG emissions from livestock production. These practices were categorized into enteric CH4, manure management and animal husbandry mitigation practices. Emphasis was placed on enteric CH4 mitigation practices for ruminant animals (only in vivo studies were considered) and manure mitigation practices for both ruminant and monogastric species. Over 900 references were reviewed; simulation and life cycle assessment analyses were generally excluded

This book describes the importance of sustainable livestock production from a food security perspective in the changing climate scenario. It covers the amelioration of climate change impacts and describes the various mitigation strategies to reduce enteric methane emissions. The book targets sustainable livestock production by covering diverse concepts of amelioration, mitigation, and policy up-gradation. Further, it examines various adverse impacts of climate change on growth, meat, milk, and reproduction in livestock. Most importantly, the book covers novel aspects of quantifying heat stress response of livestock based on non-invasive methodologies, including infrared thermal imaging, sensor-based applications, hair, urine, and fecal cortisol estimation. Particular emphasis was given to describing the skin-based novel approaches to establish climate resilience in indigenous breeds. The book provides detailed descriptions of alleviating climate change impacts on shelter management, nutritional interventions, and genetics-based strategies involving advanced genomic tools. Lastly, it highlights the livestock species which could be considered ideal climate-resilient animal models to withstand the adversities associated with climate change.

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Veterinary medicine, , course: Seminar, language: English, abstract: The objective of this review is to point out that the global dialog on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in animal agriculture has, thus far, not adequately considered animal welfare in proposed climate change mitigation strategies. Many suggested approaches for reducing emissions, most of which could generally be described as calls for the intensification of production, can have substantial effects on the animals. Climate change is seen as a major threat to the survival of many species, ecosystems and the sustainability of livestock production systems in many parts of the world. As per estimates, about 12.5% of total emissions of greenhouse gases are related to livestock production .This contribution is even higher (18%) when the deforestation related to the expansion of livestock production area is also considered to meet the growing demand of animal products. Livestock contributes about 9% of total carbon dioxide production emissions, 37% of methane, and 64% of nitrous oxide emissions throughout production process. There is an urgent need to integrate these other sustainability measures into GHG mitigation assessments. Mitigation in reducing emissions can be achieved in different ways related to animal feeding and management, manure collection, storage, improved animal waste management through energy (biogas) recovery, and management of crops fed to the livestock by bringing more drastic changes of the whole production system. A number of techniques exist to reduce methane emissions from enteric fermentation from ruminants. Improving the genetic potential of animals through planned cross-breeding or selection within a breed, and achieving this genetic potential through proper nutrition and improvements in reproductive efficiency, animal health and reproductive lifespan are effective and recommended approaches for improving animal productivity and reducing GHG emissions per unit of product. There are several factors which need to be considered for selection of best options for methane emission reduction: these include climate, economic, technical and material resources, existing manure management practices, regulatory requirements etc. Generally the methane mitigation strategies can be grouped under three broader headings viz., manage mental, nutritional and advanced biotechnological strategies.

This volume addresses in detail both livestock’s role in climate change and the impacts of climate change on livestock production and reproduction. Apart from these cardinal principles of climate change and livestock production, this volume also examines the various strategies used to mitigate livestock-related GHG emissions, and those which can reduce the impacts of climate change on livestock production and reproduction. Presenting information and case studies collected and analyzed by professionals working in diversified ecological zones, the book explores the influence of climate change on livestock production across the globe. The most significant feature of this book is that it addresses in detail the different adaptation strategies and identifies targets for different stakeholders in connection with climate change and livestock production. Further, it puts forward development plans that will allow the livestock industries to cope with current climate changes and strategies that will mitigate the effects by 2025. Lastly, it provides researchers and policymakers several researchable priorities to help develop economically viable solutions for livestock production with less GHG emissions, promoting a cleaner environment in which human beings and livestock can live in harmony without adverse effects on productivity. Given that livestock production systems are sensitive to climate change and at the same are themselves a contributor to the phenomenon, climate change has the potential to pose an increasingly formidable challenge to the development of the livestock sector. However, there is a dearth of scientific information on adapting livestock production to the changing climate; as such, well-founded reference material on sustaining livestock production systems under the changing climate scenarios in different agro-ecological zones of the world is essential. By methodically and extensively addressing all aspects of climate change and livestock production, this volume offers a valuable tool for understanding the hidden intricacies of climatic stress and its influence on livestock production.